What is the daftest thing you ever carried?

[tonythomson]

Just for fun come on own up as to what is the "stupidest", "most inapproprite" or "over weight" thing you have ever taken on a long distance cycle tour?
Mine a large bag of Jordons Muselia while touring India, and a Punch and Judy puppet show around SE Asia and China, great for breaking the ice though.

[wanderingwheel]

Hmm, so many to choose from.  The very first thing I ever purposely left behind was a giant bag of rice.  A walkman whose batteries would die after one tape, and the accompanying speakers which were either inaudible, or unintelligible.  A chair.  A 27" spare tire for a 700C wheel.  However, the stuffed pelican does not fall in this category!

What about all those things I should have brought?  A sleeping bag on a camping trip.  True rain gear.  A spare tire (that actually works).  Tools.  A working pump.

Sean

[Westinghouse]

I once carried a plastic bag filled with about 15 cassette tapes and a player that I used maybe five times all the way across the U.S.A. from east to west.

[mimbresman]

Bet you can't beat this...

Riding to Canada from Albuquerque back in 1981 (GPO 619), I carried a Styrofoam cooler from Durango, CO, all the way to Jasper, AB, on to Vancouver Island, the San Juans, and to Everett, WA to Deming NM via Greyhound bus. I pedaled back to Silver City with the cooler where it eventually broke several years later (I was sad when that happened). We bought the cooler in Durango to keep our milk cool during a rest day. We found it so handy, we decided to keep it. First carried over my sleeping bag, eventually it evolved into a trunk, where I could carry bread and stuff inside it. I also carried a AM/FM radio in my handlebar bag. I left NM with a 70 lbs bike, and returned with a bike that weighed 105 lbs. ??

Our Bikecentennial group (GPO 619) found a full-sized shovel somewhere in Colorado, and the group leader, Beaver, carried it all the way to Jasper. He was seen getting on the train with the shovel, taking it back home to Michigan.

This message was edited by mimbresman on 11-30-08 @ 7:39 AM

[tonythomson]

Hi thanks made me laugh on a miserable wet day here in Uk.  I had this crazy once idea that everytime I stopped I had to throw something away to lighten the load.  Took a while to realise that throwing one sock away just meant I had to carry the other now odd sock which was of no use. Sometimes think my brain gets sloppy on these long rised! Cheers Tony

[bobbirob22]

i think te worst thing i ever carried was 3 cases ,24 packs, of beer. biking and camping are supposed to be a memorable time to relax and take the edge off of every day life while enjoying nature and generally just having a good time and i stayed drunk the whole camping trip (1 week) and hardly remember a thing about it. what a waste i thought to myself. ill never carry beer on another trip.

ROBERT JENKINS

This message was edited by bobbirob22 on 11-30-08 @ 3:34 PM

[mimbresman]

Bob,
On my Bikecentennial trip, our finish was Jasper, AB. We planned a big shindig and did more than one bicycle shuttle to the Canadian beer store to buy long 12 packs. I don't remember how many 12 packs we bought but I think we did more than one trip each, and it was at least 3 of us doing the beer run. It was about 5 miles into town from the campground. So for being the end of trip with zero miles to go, we still put in about 20 miles each just going back and forth to the beer store. Nuts!
MM

[chris_w_r]

I carried a Roberts LW radio on the Transam 2004. Didn't use it once, but
as I bought it especially for the trip couldn't get rid of it. Returned it to
Argos (where I had bought it) once I got home so that took the edge off
my frustration.

My riding partner also carried some bottled beer that he hadn't finnished
one night on the Pacific coast, but decided to loose it before hitting
McKenzie Pass. Quite wise.

[WesternFlyer]

Two years ago I stuffed my trailer with my dive/surf wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel and rode down the Oregon Coast.  I was smart enough to leave the lead weights at home.  It rained for the first five days and the last thing I wanted to do was get wetter than I already was.  When the sun finally came out I found all the best surfing spots rented wetsuits at a reasonable price.  I put it all in a box and FedEx'ed it home.

Western Flyer

We must ride light and swift.  It is a long road ahead.

King Theoden

[crawdadslim]

Just this last October I rode two hundred forty miles each way to visit a friend and his new wife.  I carried a ceramic coffee service I had thrown for them(seven peice)as a gift.  about eleven and a half pounds.  I just sort of thought, hey, why pay shipping?
Not that bad, but I had to cross the ozarks mountains and Buffalo River Valley.  
I had saucers with the tarp, socks in the cups, the pot was full of instant rice and power bars and the cream and sugar bowls held a repair kit and spare tubes.  It was all packed in with everything, trying to balance the load.
My friend says his wife is still talking about watching me unpack her wedding gift.   Lucky she is pretty cool and didn't freak about the socks.  She just asked if they were dishwasher safe and then shoved them in there. :confuse:

[razor]

Suddenly ,I don't feel as insane as I thought .I like going on 40 to 80 mile rides on the weekends and I stop at any good looking yard sales .So far I have bought 2 teapots , various pieces of camping gear and small furniture . I usually come back for the furniture with the car .It is so funny to see peoples faces when I'm packing up my teasures in my bicycle trunk , particularly the teapots ."All of which have made it home safely " .My friends have taken to pointing out yard sales when cycling with me , I think they want to see if I make it home with some of the stuff .Week or longer rides are problematic .

Razor

[cmmitch357@hotmail.com]

Half Gallon of Jim Beam on a 1000 mile ride through the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Don't leave home without it!

Chris

[geegee]

Wait until THIS GUY gets out and goes on tour